Catholic officials banned palm reading during the middle ages because it competed with their own religious guilt trips

A closer look

Gatekeeping the future is a highly competitive industry. In the Medieval period, chiromancy (palm reading) became incredibly popular among the masses to divine their fates and sins. The Catholic Church swiftly classified it as demonic heresy, not necessarily because it was fake, but because it bypassed the priests. If someone could just look at their hand to find out their spiritual standing or future misdeeds, they wouldn't need to confess to the clergy or buy indulgences. It was a purely economic crackdown.